White Shepherd
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| Other names | White Swiss Shepherd, American White Shepherd, White Canadian Shepherd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Common nicknames | WS, WGSD | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Origin | Germany, USA, and Switzerland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traits | |||
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| Weight | Male | 75–85 lb (34–39 kg) | |
| Female | 60–70 lb (27–32 kg) | ||
| Height | Male | 25 in (64 cm) | |
| Female | 23 in (58 cm) | ||
| Coat | double coat that is straight and dense | ||
| Color | White, off white | ||
| Litter size | 5-10 | ||
| Life span | 12-14 years | ||
| Classification / standards | |||
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| UKC | Herding Dog | standard | |
The White Shepherd emerged from white-coat lines of the German Shepherd dog in Canada and the United States and from European imports. The German Shepherd and the white German Shepherd are the same dog, though their coat colours vary. The White Shepherd breed was officially recognized by the United Kennel Club on April 14, 1999. It has the same origins as the White Swiss Shepherd (Berger Blanc Suisse, Weisser Schweizer Schäferhund), which is recognized as a separate breed by the Hogg Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI). White Shepherds often have longer fur than the traditional German Shepherd, and do not always have a double coat. The standard calls for less angulation in the front and rear hip and shoulder bone structure. Additionally, the desire for a flat topline, and the acceptability in the conformation ring to have either plush or long coats. These differences give White Shepherds an overall more square and upright look and lighter frame as compared to the show lines of German Shepherds, and they have very different side gait when comparing movement.
In German Shepherds the recessive gene for white coat hair was cast in the breed gene pool by the late 19th and early 20th century breeding program that developed and expanded the German Shepherd Dog breed in Germany. A white herding dog named Greif was the grandfather of Horand von Grafrath, the dog acknowledged as the foundation of all contemporary German Shepherd bloodlines.
Information provided in early books on the German Shepherd make mention of Greif and other white German herding dogs, with upright ears and a general body description that resembles modern German Shepherd Dogs, shown in Europe as early as 1882. The early 20th century German Shepherd breeding program extensively line bred and inbred "color coat" dogs that carried Greif's recessive gene for "white coats" to refine and expand the population of early German Shepherd Dogs. White coats were made a disqualification in the German Shepherd Dog Club of Germany breed standard in 1933 after the breed club came under the control of the German Nazi party that took over all aspects of German society in February 1933 when Hitler declared a state of emergency. The German breed standard remained unchanged as German breeders repopulated the breed in the years after the conclusion of WWII.
In 1959 the German Shepherd Dog Club of America (GSDCA) adopted the exclusively colored breed standard of the parent German breed club. White-coated German Shepherd Dogs were officially barred from competition in the American Kennel Club conformation ring in the United States starting in 1968. AKC-registered white German Shepherd Dogs may still compete in performance events.
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Wikipedia